Travel Vaccine Breaking News

The U.S. Department of State recently reissued its Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution notice for the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

As of July 17, 2023, the State Department confirmed that most crime occurs on New Providence (Nassau) and Grand Bahama (Freeport) islands.

In Nassau, practice increased vigilance in the “Over the Hill” area (south of Shirley Street).

Violent crimes, such as burglaries, armed robberies, and sexual assaults, occur in tourist and non-tourist areas. And be vigilant when staying at short-term vacation rental properties where private security companies do not have a presence. 

Additionally, vacation activities involving commercial, recreational watercraft, including water tours, are not consistently regulated.

As of July 1, 2023, U.S. Embassy Nassau issued form DS-2060, U.S. Department of State Report of Death of a U.S. Citizen or U.S. Non-Citizen National Abroad.

Due to these concerns, U.S. government personnel cannot use independently operated jet-ski rentals on New Providence and Paradise Islands. 

If you travel to The Bahamas, the State Department advises enrolling in the Smart Traveler Program to make it easier to locate you in an emergency.  

Should Americans need local assistance, the U.S. Embassy Nassau is located at #42 Queen Street.

From a health perspective, the U.S. CDC says to check your travel vaccines and medicines list and visit a healthcare provider at least a month before your trip to The Bahamas in 2023.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the World Health Organization, and the Robert Koch Institute today announced a Health Security Partnership focused on strengthening disease surveillance and epidemic intelligence in Africa.

Substantial progress has been made in disease surveillance across Africa over the past decade, but it is worth noting that it experiences more outbreaks and other health emergencies than others, many of which are preventable or controllable with proven public health interventions, wrote the Africa CDC on July 18, 2023.

“Our collective ability to prevent, prepare for, and respond to healthy security emergencies remains critical to keeping our communities safe,” said Sara Hersey, Director of Collaborative Intelligence at the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence, in a press release.

“Through this partnership, WHO remains dedicated to working with Member States to systematically strengthen our capabilities and collaboration across stakeholders, sectors, and borders for more effective and collaborative disease surveillance in Africa.”

The Texas Department of State Health Services (DHSHS) today announced that no-cost health clinics will be available for residents of South Texas next week.

Operation Border Health Preparedness (OBHP) will operate in the Rio Grand Valley from July 24-28, 2023.

OBHP services will include immunizations for children and adults, medical exams, student sports physicals, health and diabetes screenings, dental and vision exams, and prescription glasses from a mobile lab. 

In 2022, OBHP provided 30,031 health services to about 6,400 patients.

“Operation Border Health Preparedness allows DSHS and its partners to develop and refine their emergency response actions while also providing no-cost healthcare options for many South Texas residents who may face challenges receiving health care,” said DSHS Commissioner Jennifer Shuford, MD, MPH, in a media statement on July 20, 2023. 

“For some (Texas) residents, this may be their only time to visit with a doctor this year.”

Services vary by location, so the public can visit dshs.texas.gov/obhp2023 or call 2-1-1 to confirm which services are offered at a specific Texas location.

The Lancet Global Health published an early-release study funded by Unitaid that estimated preventive tuberculosis (TB) treatments offered to people with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and household contacts of newly diagnosed TB patients could save nearly 850,000 lives by 2035.

People living in close contact with a person with TB disease are at highest risk of infection, accounting for a significant percentage of the 10.6 million new TB infections yearly.

These researchers wrote on July 18, 2023, that the costs of scaling up a TB preventive treatment (TPT) program, including TPT drugs and investigation to rule out active disease, are a major barrier to implementing TPT guidelines and allocating resources.

This study found implementing short-course TPT is likely cost-effective for people living with HIV/AIDS, including child and adult contacts in most countries. 

Between 2023 and 2035, scaling up TPT prevented 0.9 (95% uncertainty interval) people from developing TB and 0.13 (0·05–0·27) TB deaths per 100 PLWHA at an incremental cost of $15 per PLWHA.

“The imperative for TB prevention is clear,” said Vincent Bretin, Director of Results at Unitaid, in a related press release.

“This cost-effectiveness analysis proves that preemptively reaching all at-risk individuals – even when it requires the logistical hurdles of going into communities to find those who may not be actively seeking care – is not just ethically sound. It is a smart investment capable of making an enormous impact on the fight to end TB worldwide.”

Previous studies found deploying the 100-year-old BCG vaccine with children offered ample protection against TB and would save billions in healthcare costs.

As of July 2023, over 14 types of BCG vaccines are in use globally. In the U.S., the BCG vaccine is considered for people who meet specific criteria.

VBI Vaccines Inc. today announced that the PreHevbri® vaccine is now available in the Netherlands and Belgium for active immunization against infection caused by all known subtypes of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) in adults.

It is the only approved 3-antigen hepatitis B vaccine for adults in the Netherlands and Belgium.

As part of the partnership announced in September 2022, PreHevbri is available through France-based Valneva SE's commercial infrastructure and distribution networks.

PreHevbri (PreHevbrio™, Sci-B-Vac®) can be expected that hepatitis D will also be prevented by immunization with PreHevbri as hepatitis D does not occur without hepatitis B infection.

Jeff Baxter, President and CEO of VBI, commented in a press release on July 19, 2023, "Over the next several months, we expect to continue to expand global access to PreHevbri with additional market launches as we work to make an impact in the fight against hepatitis B worldwide."

This HBV vaccine is currently available in the U.S., Europe, the U.K., and Israel. 

Hepatitis B is one of the world's most significant infectious disease threats, with more than 290 million people infected globally. It is the leading cause of liver disease, about 25%, and is tough to cure, says the U.S. CDC.

Furthermore, women with hepatitis B can transmit the virus to their newborns during birth. If not vaccinated, 90% of infants infected with HBV at birth will progress to chronic HBV infections.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today announced an Emergency Preparedness and Response COCA Call on July 20, 2023, where participants will learn how to prevent, diagnose, and treat malaria.

And how the biology of the pathogen contributes to the clinical management of the disease,

And how CDC and state and local health departments respond to the locally acquired mosquito-borne malaria cases in Florida and Texas.

Previously, the CDC issued a Health Alert Network Health Advisory on June 26, 2023, to share information on the recent identification of locally acquired, mosquito-transmitted malaria cases (P. vivax) in Florida and Texas.

Although these are the first documented instances of locally transmitted malaria in the U.S. since 2003, approximately 2,000 malaria cases are diagnosed and treated in the U.S. each year.

Malaria cases are primarily confirmed in individuals returning from travel to malaria-endemic countries such as Brazil and Cuba.

These malaria infections present a potential risk of subsequent transmission domestically since  Anopheles mosquitoes, capable of transmitting malaria, are broadly distributed across the United States.

For example, locally-infected and travel-related malaria cases in Florida were confirmed in July 2023.

During this COCA call on July 20, 2023, at 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM ET, at Webinar Link:  https://www.zoomgov.com/j/1618112526, will learn CDC and state and local health departments are responding to the locally acquired mosquito-borne malaria cases in the U.S.

Unfortunately, the U.S. government has not approved a malaria-prevention vaccine as of July 18, 2023.

Pfizer Inc. and Flagship Pioneering, Inc. today announced a partnership to create a new pipeline of innovative medicines. The focus will be addressing unmet needs within Pfizer's core strategic areas of interest, including in broad patient populations and diseases with high potential to benefit from diverse technology platforms and modalities.

Pfizer will fund and have options to acquire development programs.

Under the terms of the novel agreement, Flagship and Pfizer will each invest $50M upfront to explore opportunities to develop ten single-asset programs by leveraging Flagship's ecosystem of more than 40 human health companies and multiple biotechnology platforms.

To date, Flagship has deployed over $3.4 billion in capital toward the founding and growth of its pioneering companies alongside more than $26 billion of follow-on investments from other institutions.

Per the new agreement, Flagship and its bioplatform companies can receive up to $700M in milestones and royalties for each successfully commercialized program.

"At Pfizer, we are expanding our efforts to pursue potential breakthrough science with unique approaches and funding mechanisms designed to leverage the dynamic scientific ecosystem," said Mikael Dolsten, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer and President, Worldwide Research, Development and Medical of Pfizer, in a press release on July 18, 2023.

"This collaboration is an exciting opportunity for Pfizer to bring deep scientific expertise and apply our development and regulatory strength to Flagship's diverse portfolio of technology platforms, translating early-stage innovation to potential medicines."